The world’s oldest baseball park is in Canada

Memorial Park in London, Ontario | Dave Chidley/CBC

London, Ont.’s Labatt Memorial Park has been around since 1877, and the Guiness Book of World Records recognizes the charming 5,200-seat stadium as the world’s longest continuously operating baseball grounds.

The streak looked like it might end at 143 years with the pandemic causing the cancellation of baseball seasons throughout Ontario, but a special exhibition game of Memorial Park’s main team, the London Majors, was organized to keep it intact.

The Majors Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) season remains cancelled due to the pandemic, but the Majors will take the field on Friday night to play the Guelph Royals in a matchup of IBL foes. Fans won’t be allowed in, but the game will be shown on local cable TV and on the Majors’ YouTube channel.

First pitch is at 7:35 p.m.

Read more about the effort to preserve the streak here.